What I learned today

[Diane]

I'm tying up a bunch of jelly beans (Jim Hatch's design) for a swap today and was trying arctic fox for the tails. I've never used it before. So I get a clump, clean out a lot of the under-hair and tie it onto the hook. It seemed unstable to me because the clump is still really thick with underhair even after I combed out a ton of the stuff. So I get the bright idea to put some superglue on it. I've got the hook out of the vise (why? good question) and holding the hook and fox in my left hand. With my right hand I put a couple of drops of thin CA glue where I tied in the fox. So what did I learn?

1. arctic fox is not my favorite tailing material
2. CA glue travels up arctic fox hair toward human fingers
3. CA glue gets hot when it works
4. Hooks get hot when the CA glue works
5. Fingers burn when the hot CA glue travels down the hair toward the fingers and glues the fingers to the hair and the hot hook.

Right now my left hand is typing this with some lovely white fur attached to a nice little burn.

I'm the happy idiot of fly tying. I'm thinking maybe ghost fiber or congo hair or anything without under-fur. And, oh, leaving the hook in the vise for the gluing part. D'oh.

[Eric-WD]

I have had CA glue on my fingers many times with out burn, or heat. Are you sure it wasn't a chemical reaction with your fingers? I hope your hand is feeling better, soaking the fingers in warm water should help take it off your fingers.

My son says that a base might make it get hot, so baking soda or something similar, perhaps something in the fox fur. (borax??)

Any chemists out there with an answer?

Eric

[kbproctor]

Note to self:

No fox fur and CA. I'm hot enough.

[Diane]

You might be right, Eric, about something in the fox fur. CA glue does get hot as it hardens but not usually this hot. And I could hear it sizzling. It melted the flip flop foam, too. Now I've switched to craft fur and no real heat at all.

[Wes]

he he....we need a photo of that predicament! i bet y'all know all the home remedies for burns so i won't mention any. hope y'all're all right.

[Lotech]

I'm sorry Diane, I don't have any answers for you but I did want to thank you for the chuckle. Sorry for the flippant reply but your story tickled me. Comedy always seems to consist of something unfortunate happening to someone else. Hence the symbol for the theater.

[James Smith]

Diane, Sorry to hear of your frustrating experience, but thank you for the nice chuckle before I head to bed. I use Artic fox fur quite a bit and really like it. But then again, I mainly only use the body fur. I think you'll find it easier to lock in place if you put a few wraps of thread on the hook, hold the artic fox fur in place with a couple of wraps if thread and then add a drop of CA. Also, CA cures MUCH faster and hotter when it comes in contact with moister. I make custom pens and we use CA as a finish on most wooden pens. Believe me when I tell you I know how it feels to have the CA stick to your fingers and get REAL hot REALLY fast. It's almost like holding your finger on a toaster for about 3-4 seconds. Don't worry, that dark glue mess on your finger tips will go away in a day or so.

Jim Smith

[kelkay]

Oh goodness, you did get in a mess, sorry to hear about that. I hate super glue in the liquid form. However I tried the gel form and love it. Why not try that next time, it won't run as much, that is for sure. Also I love Artic Fox, love the movement and the look of it.

[aged_sage]

FWIW. Some years ago, I saw one of the better known "Yankee Woodworker" types on TV do a demo on what to do if you glue your fingers together with CA glue. After applying a generous amount to the tip of his thumb and index finger and letting it cure, he took a lead pencil, coated it with Vaseline, inserted it into the loop formed by his glued fingers and then abruptly popped it out between the tips of his fingers. They were unstuck! Have had no reason to try it myself, so have no personal experience with it..

[James Smith]

aged-sage,

As a frequent user of CA glue, I am ALMOST tempted to stick my fingers together jsut to try that out. While it sounds like it would work, the thought of how stupid I would feel if it didn't is keeping me from giving it a try

If/when I do get my fingers stuck together again, I will give that a try and let you know how it works. Thanks for sharing.

Jim Smith